Taylor, Jalen Ply

September 9, 2008

Start time is 1305 hours. The date is September the 9th of 2008. This is Detective Mickey Cohn, and I'm here with...

Cohn

Can I have you say your name and spell it for me, please?

Taylor

Jalen...J-A-L-E-N...and Taylor...T-A-Y-L-O-R.

Cohn

Jalen Taylor? And your date of birth?

Taylor Cohn Taylor

Yes.

Cohn

And what's your address, Jalen?

Taylor

x

Cohn

x

Taylor

x

Cohn

x

Taylor

Yes, sir.

Page 2 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Cohn

If I could have you speak up for me just a little bit. And what's your phone number, Jalen?

Taylor Cohn Taylor

Yeah.

Cohn

Do you have a cell phone?

Taylor

Hmm?

Cohn

Do you have a cell phone?

Taylor

(Inaudible).

Cohn

Is this a home phone or a cell phone?

Taylor

That's my home phone.

Cohn

Okay. This statement is being tape-recorded. Does this meet your, with your approval?

Taylor

Yes.

Cohn

Is that a yes? I'm takin' this statement in reference to the events on August the 20th, 2008, that occurred during a PRP football practice. Please describe the events of august the 20th, 2008, from the beginning to the end of practice in your own words.

Taylor

Right now?

Cohn

Yeah.

Taylor

Uh, it was like, we was walkin' and our coach got mad 'cause we was walkin' around, we walked everywhere...we walked to the water,

Page 3 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

every time we got water, we walked to the water, walked to (inaudible). It's like we walked to everything, we was lazy, when we was doin' our stuff. Cohn

Um-hmm.

Taylor

And then that’s when coach, he was, he was cool with it 'cause he was cool at first...he was tellin' us to hustle up and stuff...so he, he was starting to get mad 'cause we was walkin' so he made us run. 'Cause we was walkin' like bein' lazy the whole damn practice.

Cohn

Um-hmm.

Taylor

Yeah.

Cohn

So he thought y'all weren't givin' a...

Taylor

We weren't givin', we wasn't, we wasn't givin' a, a good effort.

Cohn

And that was from the beginning of practice all the way up to when you all started runnin' the uh...

Taylor

...Yes.

Cohn

Running the drills...or whatever? Alright. and as far as water breaks go, how are water breaks given? Are they given as individuals or as they given as teams or groups...

Taylor

They givin' us like every, if we at the, like say we at the...like say we like, we doin' drills...it's like a 200-minute drill, then we get water. Like that, 'cause we, he want us to stay

Page 4 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

hydrated. We get like uh, like we do one drill, then like we like individual drills...but then everybody get that same amount of water. Cohn

Um-hmm.

Taylor

And we get like three or four, like four or five times.

Cohn

So but when that, when that happens, when it's time for y'all to get water, was you and your group, okay, yeah, let's go get water together, or you just go get water as you want to, by yourself?

Taylor

No, we uh, the whole group, the whole group, the whole group gets water.

Cohn

Now August the 20th, 2008, how many water breaks did you take?

Taylor

I think like four.

Cohn

And what are you? position?

Taylor

I'm tight end.

Cohn

Tight end? So you're offense?

Taylor

Um-hmm.

Cohn

After the last water break, what did the practice consist of?

Taylor

What you mean like?

Uh, what, what's your

Page 5 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Cohn

Like the last water break...not the last water break of the day, but the one before that...so the last water break...

Taylor

The last water break, it was uh, it was before we started runnin', 'cause we was, we walked, we walked to the water and came back (inaudible).

Cohn

Okay. And was he tellin' y'all to hustle up or...

Taylor

Yes. He was tellin' us to hustle up. And we was still, we was barely joggin', and that's when he said, that's when he told us to line, get in line.

Cohn

Okay. So after the, after the...that water break, when y'all weren’t hustlin', he told you to get on the line. So basically, the rest of the practice consisted of you all runnin'?

Taylor

Yeah, but it wasn't like, it was like...I don't know how long it was, like 45 minutes or 30 minutes, somethin' like that...practice.

Cohn

Okay. Uh, after the last water break, what, what...and when you say "runnin'" what, do you all have a name for that, what you all were doin', the runnin'?

Taylor

Gassers.

Cohn

Gassers?

Taylor

Yeah.

Cohn

Okay. Gasser is sideline to sideline, back, sideline to sideline, so it's 50 yards and back,

Page 6 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

50 yards and back. Taylor

Yeah.

Cohn

Right? And that's one gasser.

Taylor

Um-hmm.

Cohn

And why, why was the team runnin' gassers? Was it...

Taylor

'Cause, 'cause we uh, 'cause we uh, 'cause we wasn't listenin' to the coach.

Cohn

And how many sprints did your group run? And when I say "groups"...

Taylor

The whole team?

Cohn

The whole team.

Taylor

I don't know, we, 'cause uh, 'cause uh, he, I think, I don't know where, I don't know how many we did, but I know we, we didn't do like we usually do. Like we didn't do that many. We did like ten. And ten (inaudible) somethin' like that.

Cohn

So you think total you did ten?

Taylor

Ten, ten between ten and 12.

Cohn

That's total for everybody. Right?

Taylor

Yes.

Cohn

And you, they line up in groups, right? There's two groups?

Page 7 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Taylor

Um-hmm.

Cohn

What group were you in?

Taylor

I was in the, I was in the little guys.

Cohn

How many gassers did you run before taking off your gear?

Taylor

I think uh, we ran eight or nine gassers. Maybe eight or nine.

Cohn

How many gassers did you run after taking off your gear?

Taylor

Like two or three.

Cohn

How long do you think the team was runnin' the gassers? You said about 45 minutes? Or...

Taylor

Yeah, about 45 minutes or 40 minutes.

Cohn

Did you or any of your teammates ask for water breaks or try to get water during the running of the sprints, the gassers?

Taylor

No. I, I didn't ask for water, I just, I just deal with it. And didn't have practice over. I didn't ask for no water.

Cohn

But did you hear any of your teammates ask for water?

Taylor

No, sir.

Cohn

No one asked for water at all?

Page 8 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Taylor

I don't think so.

Cohn

And what about after pra...after the gassers were over? What did y'all do after, after the gassers were...after you all quit the gassers, for whatever reason after that, after you all stopped doin' the gassers, what did you all do at that point?

Taylor

He told us all to come and sit by the trees so he can talk to us.

Cohn

Um-hmm. Did a couple guys try to go get water? When he told 'em...

Taylor

I wasn't payin' attention. I was on, I was on somethin' somewhere else. I was takin' off my shoulder pads and then he, he's, I thought he was yellin' at all of us, I didn't know who he was yellin' at.

Cohn

But did he yell at somebody to get back over here, I'm not done talkin' to you yet?

Taylor

Yeah, he said something like that. But I, I don't know, I don't know if for sure he said it, but I know, 'cause I was mad, I wasn't listenin'...

Cohn

Um-hmm.

Taylor

...I wasn't listenin' very well...

Cohn

Okay. Uh, did you see...did you or any of your teammates become sick during the running of the gassers?

Taylor

What do you mean by sick...fallin' out?

Page 9 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Cohn

Fall out...throw up...you know...

Taylor

No, we was just, no, we was just tired, we wasn't throwin' up or nothin'.

Cohn

You see anybody fall out?

Taylor

Uh, what do you mean? Like pass out?

Cohn

Pass out or...

Taylor

there was just two of 'em.

Cohn

Who were they?

Taylor

It was Calloway and uh, and uh...what's his name...uh...

Cohn

Max?

Taylor

Max.

Cohn

When did Calloway fall out?

Taylor

'Cause no, 'cause he, he had, 'cause he, wee was in gassers and he, if you, he was runnin' hard, and he ran real hard, then he put it all out. He said, I put all out as effort, and then that's when...he didn't really pass out...he just uh, he just uh, 'cause he was like, he was hard, hard...breathin' hard... then the coach told him get uh, uh, he was done 'cause he was runnin' hard, and stuff like that...

Cohn

Okay. And when did Max fall out? Was that the end...beginning...

Taylor

I, I didn't see him fall, I just, I just seen him on

Page 10 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

the ground. Cohn

Okay. And was that at the end...

Taylor

...Um-hmm...

Cohn

...like after all the gassers were over with or as they were ending...

Taylor

That was when we were ending.

Cohn

During any practices this year, have you personally seen or heard of any teammates being injured or quitting the team?

Taylor

Quit, quitting the team.

Cohn

Who'd you see quit?

Taylor

Uh...

Cohn

that was during a practice?

Taylor

Um-hmm. I uh, saw, I saw uh, I didn't see no other guys, but I just saw one, uh, it was one of the freshmen. 'Cause they quit 'cause uh, one of the coaches was doin', gettin' on, gettin' on his (sic) nerves...

Cohn

When was, when was that practice?

Taylor

That was like, that was like two or three weeks ago. That's the only, that's (inaudible) 'cause we had a new coach. But he was, he's cool now, he, he didn't, they, they wasn't used to 'im and (inaudible) like they was scared and just left and quit...

Page 11 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Cohn

Yeah.

Taylor

And they wish, now they wish they was on the team, but, but uh, they, they uh, they can't come back.

Cohn

Who is the one person that quit? You said one person quit...one, you said one person quit a couple weeks ago.

Taylor

No, I mean like the whole, like it was like four or five of 'em like that quit...

Cohn

Okay.

Taylor

'Cause they, 'cause they didn't wanna deal with that coach 'cause he was just, he was tryin' to teach us good discipline.

Cohn

Oh.

Taylor

I don't, I don't know, he was a new coach, he was tryin' to teach good discipline. But then uh, they started gettin' mad so like they decided to quit. I just, I just told 'em, y'all quit for no reason.

Cohn

Well, when the coach, what do you mean when you say he tries to give good discipline...what, what's, what's he do to make you give good discipline?

Taylor

I, I wasn't, I wasn't over there...I wasn't over there, over there with them, 'cause I was with the varsity in JV...

Cohn

...Um-hmm...

Page 12 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008

Taylor

...I wasn't never there with them...but uh, they, I just saw some of 'em was like they, they was mad, somethin' like that. But I don't know, they said somethin' about it but I don't know who he is.

Cohn

Um-hmm. Has anyone influenced you in any way withhold information, to change any of the facts that occurred during the practice? Anyone asked you to change any, to tell you what to say or change things...

Taylor

No, I, I wouldn't listen if they try to tell me what I say.

Cohn

But did anybody try to tell you to say somethin' like that?

Taylor

Hm-umm. They don't tell me what to say.

Cohn

And is this statement truthful? Everything you told me the truth?

Taylor

Yes, sir.

Cohn

Is there anything else that you wanna add or you think we should know or anything that uh, you'd like to tell us?

Taylor

No, that's all I said.

Cohn

Alright. that concludes the interview. time is now 1315 hours.

END OF STATEMENT File #08197fcohn-ks

The

Page 13 of 13 Statement: Jalen Taylor / Case #08197(f) September 9, 2008